BMW Supercharged R5 concept unveiled

Snapshot: BMw Supercharged R5 could come as production motorcycle

BMW has unveiled Supercharged R5 Hommage Concept at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este, an exclusive gathering of classic cars and motorcycles in Italy, to pay tribute the 80th anniversary of the launch of the Classic R5 bike. It’s been otherwise crafted entirely from scratch by Swedish custom-builder brothers Ronny and Benny Noren, according to BMW’s specifications.

Ola Stenegard, BMW Motorrad’s Head of Vehicle Design, said: ‘In today’s world it is very simple to keep it complicated, but very complicated to keep it simple. And the BMW R5 captures the very essence of a motorcycle. Our aim was to transport its clarity and elegant aesthetic appeal to the modern era - creating a respectful combination of old-school and high-tech with a dash of high performance.’

It has covered telescopic forks from the old model, which use to be a new technology for that era, with an aerodynamic profile. The main highlight of the bike is a specially developed supercharger which significantly boosts its power from the original 26bhp according to BMW. The engine, retrieved after being damaged in a race, has also gained from new parts including the billet aluminium valve cover and breastplate. Its other notable modern features are rear shock, disc brakes, levers and the one-off stainless steel exhaust.